The Complete Legacy Series: Books 1 - 6

by Paula Kay

  Lately, though, Gigi had felt a bit of distance between them—if she was being honest, she’d felt that from several of her friends. She suspected it was due to the change in her lifestyle—the inheritance and her marriage to Douglas—but she didn’t want to believe that her friendships were as fragile as that.

  She sighed. She didn’t think that she’d changed—that the money had changed her. But there were differences. She wasn’t naive enough to think that there wouldn’t be. It was one of the things that she’d been struggling with, for sure. Trying to blend her old, working life with her new, wealthy retired life. She’d like to believe that it was possible. She’d do her best to make it all work and with her old relationships intact.

  “Hello? Earth to my lovely.”

  Douglas was pulling her towards him, laughing as he did so.

  “Oh, sorry, darling. What were you saying?”

  “I was just wishing you a great day and thanking you for my breakfast.”

  She saw that he’d picked up the scone she’d left for him from the table, but had added one more to it.

  “Douglas. How about a banana instead of that second scone?” She laughed because she didn’t want to appear the nagging wife, but they’d both decided after their last physical that they wanted to each drop ten pounds or so.

  Douglas looked thoughtful for a minute before he put the extra scone back on the tray and accepted the banana that Gigi was offering him. “Okay, you win this time.”

  They both laughed and Douglas pulled Gigi to him one more time.

  “Are we okay, honey? After yesterday, I mean.”

  Gigi looked into his eyes and nodded. “Yes, we’re okay.”

  “Good, because you know how much I adore you, my love. I don’t want you to be unhappy for one second because of me.” He looked intently back at her before kissing her on the lips.

  God, but he still took her breath away every time he kissed her like that. How could she have been so lucky? She needed to remember this every day—to count her blessings, and Douglas being the very best thing to have ever happened to her.

  “I adore you too, honey. Really.” She looked at him, willing him to feel the deep emotion of her words. “Now scoot. Or you’re going to be late for your golf date.”

  After Douglas left, Gigi tidied up the kitchen before Nathalie arrived. Finally, at Douglas’s insistence, they’d hired the young girl to come in for the mornings to do the cleaning and laundry. But it wasn’t something that Gigi was comfortable with and she had yet to just not clean up after herself. She doubted that this was something that would ever change. She smiled as she thought about how ridiculous it all seemed—her having a housekeeper. She’d probably need to talk to Douglas about it, but now she felt somewhat obligated to the girl over the job. She sighed thinking about it as she made her way to the laundry room to get started with some folding.

  A few minutes later she heard Nathalie letting herself in the front door.

  “Nat? I’m in the laundry room.”

  “What are you doing in there?” The young girl laughed and Gigi knew that she was well aware of Gigi’s resistance to having her there to look after them. God, she must take the prize for the best boss ever.

  She couldn’t help but giggle as she thought about how tough Mrs. Sinclair had been on her when she’d just started with them. She was very demanding, and it took a few years for their relationship to really develop. Gigi knew that she would have quit very early on, but once they’d brought Arianna home, her fate with the family had been sealed. The infant had melted her heart the first time she’d held her, and Gigi knew that they needed her then. She would become the child’s nanny and her life would never be the same.

  She wiped the tear away from her face just as Nathalie entered the room.

  “What are you doing in here, Gigi? Honestly, why don’t you let me do that?” She reached to pull the towel that Gigi was folding out of her hands.

  Gigi relented, taking a seat on the nearby chair to watch Nathalie as she folded the towels. “Okay, okay. I didn’t really have much else to do, so I figured I’d get a start on it for you.”

  “Well, I do appreciate that, but some days you leave so little for me to do around here that I’m starting to feel guilty over it.”

  “Oh, don’t feel guilty Nat. Please. Honestly, you’re terrific.” Gigi stood up to give the young girl a swift hug.

  “Well, you and Mr. Jackson are by far the best employers I’ve ever had.” She laughed. “I don’t know how the heck I got so lucky finding this job—finding the two of you.”

  “We feel lucky to have found you too. How about if I leave you to fold this load and then you come join me in the kitchen for a cup of coffee? I want to hear all about your date last night.” Gigi winked at the young girl.

  She’d been living somewhat vicariously through her ever since Nathalie had started with them six months ago. Their friendship was fast and easy, and Gigi appreciated the distraction of the exciting life that their housekeeper seemed to be living in the city. In some ways, she supposed that Nathalie reminded her of Arianna—at least before the accident—and before she’d gotten sick. The Arianna of those days was full of spunk and always the life of a party.

  Gigi left to go to the kitchen, glancing at the time. She’d have one last cup of coffee and a nice chat with Nathalie before she’d go upstairs to try to give Lia a call in Italy. They’d been playing phone tag, and she had a strong feeling that talking to her good friend might help with some of the feelings she’d been having.

  Lia and Gigi had been through a lot together since Lia had come back into Arianna’s life. Everything that happened after Arianna met her birth mom had been intense, and ultimately Gigi and Lia had become the best of friends, sharing a similar grief for the young girl who’d left their lives way too soon.

  Gigi found herself wondering why her mind seemed to be filled with so many thoughts lately about Arianna—about that time. It wasn’t that it was uncommon for her to be reminded of Arianna, but lately she was feeling a familiar feeling of dread—of sadness.

  Gigi and Nathalie enjoyed their coffee together before Gigi sent the girl off to collect the ingredients for an Italian dinner that she herself planned to cook for Douglas that night.

  Chapter 3

  Gigi made her way upstairs to the master bedroom. It still seemed odd to her, even after five years, to be sleeping in this room—to call it her own. It was the very same room that she’d cleaned for more than twenty years while working for the Sinclairs, and she didn’t know if she’d ever truly consider it her own. But Arianna had been so insistent about leaving Gigi the house, and she knew how much it pleased the young girl to think of giving it to her.

  After much discussion, she and Douglas had decided to keep the house and live there together after they’d been married, but Douglas had assured Gigi that Arianna had made it clear to him that she was to do with it as she saw fit—that she could sell the house if she wanted to. Arianna wanted Gigi to be happy and to have the home and the money, to able to retire and travel or whatever it was that she wanted to do.

  Lately, she really had been having second thoughts about living in the big house, but until she had a better idea of what the future would hold, they’d stay put. There were too many memories here to just let it go so easily, but Gigi had the feeling the time was coming.

  She settled into the chaise lounge with her phone. It was her favorite place to sit and rest during the day when she was alone, either reading or sipping her tea as she enjoyed the spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the large bay windows. She pulled up Lia’s number, hoping that she’d catch her friend at home for the evening.

  “Pronto?”

  Gigi smiled when she heard her friend’s familiar greeting on the other end of the phone.

  “Lia, it’s Gigi. I’m so happy that I caught you at home.”

  “Gigi, finally. I’ve been dying to talk to you. How are you?”

  Gigi felt i
nstantly better at the sound of her friend’s voice. No matter what was happening in their lives, the two seemed to share a special connection. Gigi was a full ten years older than Lia, but their common Italian heritage and their shared loved of Arianna had bonded them in ways in which Gigi hadn’t connected with other women in her life before.

  “Si,” Gigi answered, “I’m doing fine—well, maybe not so fine exactly, but first I want to hear about you—all the good news, please. How’s everything going with Antonio? Do you still feel like you’re on your honeymoon?” Gigi laughed, knowing that her friend would be blushing on the other end of the line.

  Lia and Antonio had been married for a year and a half, and Gigi had rarely seen a couple as happy or more in love than they were. Their courtship had been quite romantic, and she knew that Lia felt more than grateful at the way fate had brought her back with Arianna’s birth father—after so many years, after so many things had happened.

  “Si, I do in fact feel like I am still in my honeymoon phase, thank you very much. Antonio promises me that I will feel like that every day, so we shall see. How about you and Douglas? I learned from watching you two lovebirds, you know.” Lia laughed, and Gigi flashed to the memory of her wedding in the garden—how wonderful it had been having all her friends there.

  “Oh, Douglas is fine. You know, we’re both still struggling a bit trying to figure out what the heck to do with our lives, but overall things are mostly fine between us.” Gigi knew, even as she was speaking, that it wasn’t going to go over with Lia. She knew Gigi too well not to recognize when she was trying to sugarcoat something.

  “Okay. Spill it, friend. What do you mean by mostly fine? Is everything okay between you and Douglas?”

  “We’re fine. We’ll be fine. Just been having a little clash lately. Nothing that we won’t work out, or that’s wrong between us necessarily—just him trying to make me happy. But we’re okay. Honestly.”

  “So, what’s the clash about?”

  “Well, I know it’s no surprise to you that I’ve been feeling a bit off center for a while now—really, since Arianna passed away if I’m being honest. Things have been good with Douglas—our courtship certainly was a good distraction, but you know that suddenly not working was a hard thing for me.”

  “Yes, I do know that.”

  It had been a hard time for Lia too—after Arianna had died. It was another thing that the two women had had in common—the suddenness of having the money that Arianna had left them, of not having to work for other people, other families—this had been Lia’s profession also before she’d met Arianna—and she’d had a very rough time during her own transition and move to Tuscany.

  The line went quiet for just a moment, and Gigi knew that Lia was waiting for her to continue.

  “We had an argument the other day because I brought up the idea of getting a part-time job with a family again.”

  “Ah, okay.”

  Gigi felt that she heard an instant understanding in her friend’s response.

  “I really don’t see what the big deal is with it, but Douglas seems to think that my taking a job means that he’s not taking good care of me or something. He doesn’t get that I appreciate everything he’s wanting to do for me. I do. But I still need to be able to make some decisions about my own life. Does that make sense?”

  “It does. Yes.” Lia laughed lightly. “These macho men in our lives who feel this crazy need to provide. Sometimes I don’t get it myself. But on the other hand, I mostly really like it—once I learned how to adjust to the sentiment behind it all. And I know how much Douglas loves you, Gigi. I’m sure that his heart is in the right place.”

  “Oh, I know that it is. He just doesn’t understand why I’d want to continue working at all. But he should understand, really. I mean, it did take him a while—as you know—to be able to finally retire from his own job and stop working so much. And honestly, I think the man is probably getting a little bored with his day-to-day golfing and the few other things that he’s got going on too, so I guess this is partly my frustration with it all.”

  “Okay. So is it really that you want to be working again? Or that you’re just not sure what it is you should be doing?”

  Lia’s question was right on, and exactly vocalized Gigi’s frustration with her own confusion about the way she’d been feeling.

  Gigi was trying to keep from crying but she knew that her emotion was going to be apparent when she spoke. But it was why she’d phoned her friend. She needed someone to talk to, and Lia had always been there for her.

  “I don’t know, Lia.” She cried openly. “I don’t know if I want a job at all. I just know that I’m feeling very bored and like I’m only half here sometimes. It’s really not Douglas. I thank God every day that I do have him or I’d probably drive myself crazy. I’m—I’m just not so sure that we want the same things right now. This idea of being retired—of being able to travel whenever the mood strikes us. The idea of it sounds nice, but the reality is that I’m—I’m feeling kind of empty inside. Does that make sense?”

  “Yes, it does. I was about to ask you if you wanted to come here for a while. Both of you, of course, are invited anytime you like. I think you know that. But it sounds like that might fit into the category of something you are not wanting right now.”

  “Well, I had thought about that. That maybe I could come help you out at the restaurant for a while. Despite my horrible start at cooking, I have learned a thing or two from you and I know that I’d enjoy learning more.”

  The two women laughed at Gigi’s comment.

  “And maybe Douglas would enjoy spending time with Antonio at the vineyard. It really is so lovely there. Oh, I don’t know. I guess if I’m being honest, my heart tells me that another trip to Italy is not the answer—not that I don’t always adore spending time with you, or that we won’t be up for a visit soon. I just feel like there’s something else that I need to figure out, and a trip to Italy right now feels a bit like running away from that.”

  “I understand all of that,” Lia said, and Gigi believed her.

  Lia had gone through a lot of soul-searching herself during the years following Arianna’s death, and Gigi knew that she could relate to her on many levels.

  “I do have an appointment with the agency in the city this afternoon which I think I should keep. I’ll just go in and have a chat with them—see what they have available for part-time positions right now.”

  “That sounds like a good idea. Who knows? Maybe they have some type of temporary position that would be a good compromise for both you and Douglas right now,” Lia said. “Does he know that you are going in for the meeting?”

  “No, he doesn’t. And I’m not really happy keeping it from him. When I brought up the idea, he had such a strong opinion about it that I didn’t want to discuss the appointment I’d already set up. I figure I’ll tell him after I hear what they have to say. As much as his resistance frustrates me, I wouldn’t take a job without speaking to him about it—without making sure we were both in agreement, at least somewhat.”

  “It sounds like maybe you’ll have a better idea after the meeting. I say to trust yourself in the decision. And if it’s what is really going to make you happy, I find it hard to believe that Douglas wouldn’t support it. He’ll come around. And I’m sure everything’s going to be fine.”

  “Thanks so much for the support. I already feel a lot better after talking to you.”

  “Any time, my friend. Please do let me know how the meeting goes and what you end up deciding.”

  Gigi clicked off the phone feeling better about her meeting in a couple hours. She’d try to just relax about everything. She was only collecting information at this point. Nothing more. And Lia was right. She did know that eventually everything was going to be okay.

  Chapter 4

  Gigi sat in the lobby at the agency downtown, waiting for her meeting with Anna. She was quite early, so she had a few minutes to collect her thoughts. Being
here reminded of that time so long ago when she’d first heard about the job with the Sinclair family. There was a small circle among the domestic staff in the area, so she’d known that a few of her friends had already interviewed for the position and none of them had had any good things to say about Mrs. Sinclair, the lady of the house. But Gigi had been out of work for a while and she really needed the money that the full-time job promised.

  She remembered the interview well. The Sinclairs had been living in the city at the time and she instantly took a liking to Mr. Sinclair. He seemed much more easygoing and friendly than his wife, but it was clear to Gigi that she was the one who ruled the house. She was the one who would be making the decision as to whether or not Gigi would be a fit.

  Gigi remembered leaving that interview feeling like she’d blown it, only to be called a few hours later by the agency, telling her that the job was hers if she wanted it. She moved in to start work right away and the first few months were difficult, but then they adopted Arianna and everything changed. Gigi was destined to be there for that family, to see them through everything over the years. And though Mrs. Sinclair never totally eased up on her, over time they had an understanding and it worked for them.

  Gigi’s thoughts were interrupted by the ding of her phone, alerting her to a text message.

  Darling, on my way home. See you soon? xo

  Douglas. Just like that, she felt a pang of guilt for being there without his knowing. No matter about their argument or how much his viewpoint of her working was frustrating her, she didn’t like keeping secrets from him. She bit her bottom lip as she considered how to respond to him.